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Formation of bisretinoid fluorophores by reaction of vitamin a aldehyde with lipid

Incubation of bovine outer segments with all-trans-retinal mimics bisretinoid formation in vivo, and by optimizing the detection of these bisretinoid species, their formation by all-trans-retinal reactivity was confirmed (). Indeed, adjusting the ratio of all-trans-retinal to PE in synthetic mixtures to determine how the two precursors affect bisretinoid production showed that the yield of bisretinoid saturates when the ratio of equivalents of all-trans-retinal to PE (egg-PE as starting material) is 4:2; no further increase occurred with eight equivalents of all-trans-retinal (8:2 ratio) (). Conversely, increasing the concentration of PE from an equivalent ratio of 4:1 through 4:8 (all-trans-retinal to PE) was associated with a steady increase in bisretinoid product. These findings indicated that the concentration of PE in the environment of the outer segment membrane has a marked effect on the rate of bisretinoid synthesis. Formation of NRPE, the first step in the synthetic pathway, is likely the most facile reaction. In the Abca4−/− mouse, a mouse model exhibiting accelerated bisretinoid formation, the level of PE in the outer segment membrane was reported to be increased (). It has been suggested that a higher level of PE in Abca4−/− mice may facilitate sequestering of all-trans-retinal as NRPE, thereby accelerating recovery of the rod photoresponse after a 30–40% bleach ().

Formation of bisretinoid fluorophores by reaction of vitamin a aldehyde with lipid

The unsaturated fatty acid 22:6n-3 (DHA) is abundant in the outer segments of photoreceptor cells, and DHA content has been shown to have several effects on retina (), including susceptibility to light damage. When 22:6n-3-containing PE was used as precursor in the synthetic reaction mixture versus egg-PE (a mixture of fatty acid moieties), phosphatidyl-pyridinium bisretinoid (A2PE) production was found to be greater with the latter. Then again, if free DHA was added to the egg-PE/all-trans-retinal reaction mixture, the yield of A2PE was increased. Under deprotonating conditions associated with the addition of base (triethylamine) to the reactants, the generation of A2PE was increased. Altogether, not only is the phospholipid PE the reactant that combines with all-trans-retinal to form bisretinoid, the lipid composition of outer segments may also impact the extent to which the reaction may be favored.